This specification relates to the field of image intensifiers, and more particularly to an image intensifier resistant to mechanical shocks.
Image intensifiers are known in the art. For example, an image intensifier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,696,462, filed Oct. 30, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The structure of a prior art image intensifier comprises a gallium arsenide (GaAs) or similar photocathode, a microchannel plate (MCP), and a phosphor screen. When illuminated by an incident photon beam, the photocathode emits electrons into the vacuum space between the photocathode and MCP. The electrons are accelerated toward the MCP by an applied voltage. The electrons enter the channels of the MCP, where each photon is accelerated along a single channel by a large negative voltage difference between the input face and the output face. As the photon is accelerated, it strikes the walls of the microchannel, releasing additional photons. Thus, by the process of secondary electron emission, the MCP amplifies the incident electron flux up to thousands of times. The electrons exiting the MCP are accelerated toward the screen and converted back to light by the phosphor layer on the screen. The result is an image with the brightness strongly multiplied.